Sydney nu-metalcore rising stars Broken Earth have returned with their vulnerable new single GHOST, and get set to launch it live across the East Coast on tour supporting Noctica this September on the Dysphoria Tour. Tickets on sale now.
GHOST sees Broken Earth dive deeper into honest and open songwriting with their emo hook-laden nu-metalcore tune inspired by the crossed boundaries and blurred lines of a relationship that takes more than it gives, and the toll prolonging processing pain can take on a person.
The track is produced and mixed by long time collaborator Mark Williamson (Inertia, Revoid) and mastered by the legendary Kris Crummett (All Time Low, Sleeping With Sirens, Dance Gavin Dance). The new single is the first to be released for the year, following COVENANT and BREATHE, which were both released last year, showcasing Broken Earth’s sonic evolution and navigation into more refined and realised territory.
Everblack Media caught up with vocalist Raphael Smith, who uncovered more information on their new song as we got to know Broken Earth a little better…
VIDEO LINK [Audio stream, video is premiering with BVTV in 2 weeks time]:
First off, could you introduce us to Broken Earth?
Hi! We are Raphael Smith (vocalist), Brad Stokes (bass), Benjamin Robinson (guitarist) and Sebastian Weir (drummer). We’re a metalcore band that loves writing earworm choruses inspired by vulnerability, as much fans of and inspired by Nickelback and Childish Gambino as we are Northlane and Linkin Park
Tell us about your latest song GHOST, what was the process of creation?
GHOST was written alongside our previous singles COVENANT and BREATHE with Mark Williamson (actual wizard) producing it. Instrumentally it was inspired by Saosin and Paramore more than anything else, and was one of the most complete songs we brought to the studio, with the lyrics barely changing between demo and final version. It was honestly just such a natural process with this one.
Was this song drawn from a personal experience thematically?
Yeah, definitely inspired by my own personal experiences with grief and not being able to say goodbye to a loved one on the other side of the world during the strictest COVID lockdowns we went through here in Sydney – it triggered huge emotional burnout that lasted over a year, leading me to feel numb in my relationship at the time, and in a lot of my friendships – which meant that when they also would be struggling, we’d both feel like we were ghosts of ourselves trying our best to reach out to each other.
With GHOST taking more of a melodic approach to the vocals compared to previous releases, is this something listeners can expect more of from Broken Earth moving forward?
I’d say absolutely! What stopped us in the past was finding a groove to write into, plus also when we first started I didn’t actually know how to sing, I was just the screamer – I only jumped on clean vocals when we needed someone to just learn it! So as the band has progressed I’ve been learning how to sing better as we go along, which has inspired more melodic tracks. Also Ben, Seb and Brad all have unique voices which we want to explore more and more (Seb sings with me on the chorus of GHOST). We never have wanted to be just a breakdown riff band, and I think this song is confident enough in its melodies to not need the intensity at 100 all the time! However, we’re still gonna write music that’ll make you max out your PA, don’t worry!
With GHOST being the first we’ve heard from Broken Earth since the late September single COVENANT, are all these singles leading towards a greater release? What’s next for Broken Earth?
Yeah we do apologize for that! Trust us, we have a lot of tunes locked away in the vault but due to a few injuries this year we just had to stay above water for a minute! What’s next is a tour with Noctica, as well as a few other shows that we haven’t been able to announce yet! We’re also preparing for more releases much much sooner than a years wait! You’ll be hearing from us soon I promise!
With a collection of tracks and a few years under your belt now, what advice would you go back and give to your past selves when you began Broken Earth?
Don’t sweat the small stuff, enjoy the ride, what will eventuate will eventuate just keep on the path! Also, invest in Panadol!
